Lots of people using the word “liminal.” Liminal is the in-between space. A place that’s not quite here but also not there. Bridges and crossroads are liminal spaces. Yokai love liminal spaces and so do a lot of Fey. TRIBUNAL, the Goth/Doom metal band out of Vancouver, Canada, resides in the liminal space. Not Vancouver, though, yeah maybe, but rather musically liminal. With TRIBUNAL you get some symphonic with Soren Mourne on cello, but you also get some serious boots of lead with all the rest of it. You get harsh male vocals with Etienne Flinn, but you also get clean female vocals with, again, Soren Mourne. You also get Doom themes juxtaposed with that hopefulness that often comes with Metal—you know, endure, rise above, wreak revenge and terror on those that wronged you.  

On April 18, 2025, TRIBUNAL released their sophomore album, In Penitence and Ruin, a wonderfully crafted album comprising nine tracks with a full runtime of over 48 minutes. I’ve read some really long and ponderous reviews on this album. A lot of wringing of hands and weighing of souls and such. The bottom line is, though, this album is really good. Okay, it may sound reminiscent of this or that, and that one band plus those others may have got here first etc., etc., etc., but screw that. I love the eerie cello; I love the haunting vocals; I love the dark yearning and visceral riffs. It’s just all too good. Also, cello. Cello and Metal are like cellars and demonic possession—they just go together.

Picking standout tracks is like throwing rocks at the side of a barn. Hard to miss and even if you do, well, it’s just a barn and who cares. My favorites are “A Word of Unhealing,” “The Sword of the Sun,” “Armoured Shadow,” “The Ruin,” and “Between Sun and Stars.” Why? I don’t know. Also, I feel like I shouldn’t have to explain myself all the time. But, no, really, the heavy melodies, the funereal rhythms, the brooding lyrics.

TRIBUNAL’s In Penitence and Ruin is so good that I’m going to have to spend my own money to buy their first album, The Weight of Remembrance, which kind of pisses me off because free music is half the reason I got into this review writing gig. The other reason is because you get turned on to all sorts of great metal bands you wouldn’t have otherwise run into. Like TRIBUNAL. Find it, buy it, love it.